Thailand’s Grand Prix is one step closer after Thai Cabinet approved a $1.2 billion bid to host races from 2028 onwards.
The proposal is the first five-year contract that will run until 2032 for races on the street circuit in Bangkok. The race was subject to feasibility studies, leading to a Thai delegation taking part in multiple events on the current Formula 1 calendar.
“In the next two or three years, there will be a world-class competition that Thailand never thought would actually happen in Thailand,” Thai government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub was quoted as saying by Reuters.
The figure given by the government is the approval of funding that will allow race organizers to proceed with negotiations with Formula 1 regarding participation in the calendar in 2028.
The proposed truck location in Bangkok’s Chatuchak Park area has a setup similar to Melbourne’s Australian Grand Prix, taking advantage of both the street and park sections. The race organizer has visited both Melbourne and Singapore over the past year to understand logistics solutions with a 3.54-mile (5.7km) layout.
The current number of races is scheduled to remain at 24 next year, but Bangkok will move the Belgian Grand Prix into a rotation model, with Zandvort and Barcelona races set to drop the calendar.